When the search went out for someone to step up to the mic and call the action for the 2008 CGS World of Warcraft Arena tournament, the most famous name synonymous with Warcraft came to mind. Everyone has heard of him, millions have watched the infamous video, and plenty have at one time or another pulled a Leeroy Jenkins at an opportune moment. On Saturday however, Ben Schulz, the man behind the Paladin, will not be running into the Rookery of UBRS en route to a chicken dinner. Instead he will be calling out the action here for the CGS viewers when the finals get under way.

What Leeroy Jenkins looks like without armor.

I had a chance to catch up with Ben and see what he has been up to these days and get some of his thoughts on the Arena Tournament.

Are you still actively playing?

I am still playing a bit, though not as much as I used to.

What are you looking forward to most about the expansion, Wrath of the Lich King?

In the upcoming expansion I am excited about the new destructible terrain, and being able to siege a city. Especially the latter. This is something [sieges] that I have been looking for in a game ever since I first played Shadowbane.

Will this be your first experience shoutcasting a Warcraft Arena Tournament?

This will actually be my third time in a major cast for a WoW tournament. The first time was the semi finals for the first Arena season. It was fairly interesting, but it felt like no one was there to see it. It wasn't televised, and the crowd was almost completely comprised of the competing teams.
The second experience was awesome. It was the finals for the first Arena season at Blizzcon 2007. That had a crowd that was truly interested in the game, and made for some fantastic competition between the teams on stage.

I understand you have PvP'd in Arenas. Have you ever competed in a tournament?

I have never actually been ranked high enough to compete in a tournament.

Have you ever competed against any of our finalist teams in some capacity?

I have not had a chance to fight any of them to my knowledge. I do know that they are all well practiced, and know how to fight whatever composition the opposing team is. I would honestly get crushed by these players, and it's not just because I play a paladin.

Some gamers think WoW has no place in eSports. As a player, how do you feel about WoW Arena as an eSport?

Leeroy storms into battle.

WoW has a little ways to go before it can really be an eSport. The Arena servers were a good start to eliminate gear being an issue, but the fact that there are some classes (Paladin) that are completely unrepresented in high-end competition definitely puts a hinder on it. (Especially since I have played a Paladin for so long.)

It does, however, take an amount of skill; otherwise there would be no Arena at all. Some problems arise with the randomness of combat that can end up masking the skill part of the game, such as Crits, and un-balanced crowd control.

What are your thoughts on the class balances in Arena?

I think this falls back to the question about WoW being a viable eSport. There does need to be better class balance, otherwise the team compositions become stale. It is blatantly apparent with the number of Rogues and Druids present in the top teams. This not only makes it hard to get a good pool of players to choose from (as some are unwilling to restart a new character that is "overpowered"), but it makes the majority of the competitive matches all look the same.

As an open beta tester, you have played for a long time. What do you like about the direction the game has taken and what would you like to see change if anything?

I do enjoy the addition of the Arenas. It is a good chance to play with my friends, and it brings 'fair' competition to the game. It is unfortunately a generic and cliché answer, but very true: I would like to see better class balance and more specs for classes viable in more compositions.

What are you looking forward to most about the CGS 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Finals?

Well, at Blizzcon '07 I had a chance to see MoB-Gaming take the cup (without ever having a teammate die!). I had doubted them a little, and despite the change in team, I am excited to see them play again.

What are your future plans for WoW Arena and the eSports scene?

I have a lot of fun when I have a chance to cast WoW Arena. I don't think I have the time or resources to ever be very competitive, so I will have to continue to get my joy from the sidelines.

Any final thoughts you would like to add or comment about?

Buff (Ret) Paladins please!

Follow the action on Arena Junkies.

Well, there you have it! Thanks to Ben for taking the time to chat with us. You can watch Ben "Leeroy Jenkins" Schulz along with the finalists fighting it out for the $25,000.00 grand prize here at theCGS.com -- LIVE on Saturday, July 19th at 4:00 EST.